The Mahaar are a Jutt

Punjabi Rajput

Rajputs during the medieval period were a dominant caste in Northwestern India, including the Punjab region.According to the 1911 census in British India, the total Rajput population in the Punjab was 1,635,578, of which 1,222,024 were Muslim, 388,744 were Hindu and were Sikh.Traditionally,...

 tribe found in the Punjab

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

 province of Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. The Mahaar are entirely distinct from the Mahar

Mahar (tribe)

The Maher are a Sindhi Muslim Rajput tribe found among both the Seraiki people of South Punjab, Pakistan as well as being found in Sindh, Pakistan.-History:The tribe claims decent from Maher, who was a Rajput...

, another tribe of Jutt origin found in Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 and Punjab

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

.

History and origin

The tribe claims descent from Mahaar, a brother of Johiya (the ancestor of the Johiya

Johiya

Johiya , also known as Joia, Joiya, Joyia, Joya, Joyea, and Joeya, is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan in Northern India and Pakistan. The Johiyas are one of the twenty-four undivided Rajput clans or eka. In ancient chronicles, they are described as "Lords of Jangladesh", a region that included Haryana,...

 tribe). Mahaar is said to be the elder brother of Johiya, being a son of Iyas, a Shaikh Siddiqui holyman, who is said to have married Rani Nal, daughter of the Bhatti Rajput

Rajput

A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

 Raja

Raja

Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...

 Chuharhar. Mahaar's grandson, Wag became Raja

Raja

Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...

 of a place called Garh Mathila. Wag grandson, Sanwra is said to have migrated to Sirsa, in what is now Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

. The Sirsa branch of the Mahaar are known as the Sanwrepotre (the sons of Sanwra in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

). Another branch settled in Shahr Fareed in Bahawalpur District

Bahawalpur District

Bahawalpur District is one of the districts of Punjab, Pakistan. According to the 1998 Census of Pakistan it had a population of 2,433,091 of which 27.01% were urban Bahawalpur district covers 24,830 km². Approximately two-thirds of the district is covered by the Cholistan Desert, which...

.

At the partition of India

Partition of India

The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

, the Sanwrepotre, like other Muslim Jutts of the region, migrated to Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

Distribution

The Mahaar are found mostly along the valley of the Sutlej

Sutlej

The Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. It is located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and east of the Central Sulaiman Range in Pakistan.The Sutlej...

 river, in the districts of Bahawalnagar

Bahawalnagar District

Bahawalnagar District is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. The district is situated on the border, before the independence of Pakistan, Bahawal Nagar was a part of Bahawalpur state governed by the Nawab of Bahawalpur...

, Okara

Okara District

Okara District is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. The Multan Road connects the district capital, Okara with tLahore 110 km away. Okara began as a small town about 40 km from the city of Sahiwal. It later become a city in its own right. According to the 1998 census, the district had a...

, Vehari

Vehari District

Vehari District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan - the city of Vehari is the capital of the district. The district was created in 1976 out of the three tehsils of Multan District . The name Vehari means low lying settlement by a flood water channel...

, Lodhran

Lodhran District

Lodhran is a district in the Punjab, Pakistan, located on the northern side of River Sutlej. It is bounded to the north by the districts of Multan, Khanewal and Vehari, to the south by Bahawalpur District, to the east lie the districts of Vehari and Bahawalpur; while district Multan lies on the...

 and Sahiwal

Sahiwal District

Sahiwal District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. As of 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were located in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District along with Okara District and Pakpattan District has comprised the Sahiwal Division...

.sialkot

Sialkot

Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...

, Shekhupuranarowal

Narowal

Narowal is a city in the northeast of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Narowal District and tehsil. It is situated on the banks of Ravi River about 4–5 km from the Indian border.-Etymology:...

The Sanwrepotre are settled mainly in Faisalabad District

Faisalabad District

Faisalabad District is one of the districts of Punjab province, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 5,429,547 of which almost 42% were in Faisalabad City....

.

In Sahiwal District

Sahiwal District

Sahiwal District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. As of 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were located in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District along with Okara District and Pakpattan District has comprised the Sahiwal Division...

, the main Mahaar village is 30/4L maharan wala

In Okara District

Okara District

Okara District is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. The Multan Road connects the district capital, Okara with tLahore 110 km away. Okara began as a small town about 40 km from the city of Sahiwal. It later become a city in its own right. According to the 1998 census, the district had a...

,Tajoo ke mahar Kot Mian Sher Khan Mahar,nehal mahar,panan mahar,chak daim mahar,duleke mahar,baqarke mahar,qasimke mahar,saboo ke mahar,Bheni nehal mahar

In Muzaffargarh District

Muzaffargarh District

Muzaffargarh is a district in the south of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Saraiki Waseb. It is spread over an area of 8,249 km². Muzaffargarh District lies in the strip between the rivers Chenab and Indus, which pass along the Eastern and Western boundaries respectively of...

, their main village is Isan Mahaar.

In Lodhran District

Lodhran District

Lodhran is a district in the Punjab, Pakistan, located on the northern side of River Sutlej. It is bounded to the north by the districts of Multan, Khanewal and Vehari, to the south by Bahawalpur District, to the east lie the districts of Vehari and Bahawalpur; while district Multan lies on the...

, the main villages are Mahaar and Dhora Mahaar.

In Dera Ghazi Khan District

Dera Ghazi Khan District

Dera Ghazi Khan is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The district covers an area of 5,306 m² and it is a long narrow strip of country, 198 m...

, their main village is Kacha Sher Mahaar.
In Rajanpur District

Rajanpur District

Rajanpur District is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 1,103,618 of which 14.27% were urban. Its administrative centre is the town of Rajanpur.-History & geography:...

. their main Village is DAJAL.
in Bahawal nagar Districtmain villages fatooi maharan,tabkare